Bozeman Magazine

Yellowstone National Park is a national treasure with international recognition for its ever-flourishing geography, wildlife, and natural beauty. But what about the people who live and work within Yellowstone’s magnificent ecosystem?

Photographer Steve Horan spent more than five years photographing over 120 people who work in and around the park for his PEOPLE OF YELLOWSTONE project. While he was taking pictures of Ranger Robert G. Whipple, Steve mentioned that his writer had just left the project and Whipple suggested his sister, Ruth W. Crocker. The two immediately connected and Ruth travelled from Connecticut to Yellowstone to meet Steve and begin interviewing the people he had photographed.

PEOPLE OF YELLOWSTONE features eighty-seven portraits and real-life stories of the people who maintain the park’s wildness, lead expeditions, collect scientific data, wrangle horses, document seismic activity, study wildlife, rescue stranded hikers, and much more. While some of the subjects portrayed in Horan and Crocker’s book are employed by the National Park Service, readers will discover that there is more to Yellowstone than the friendly rangers and volunteers that park visitors are used to. Each photograph and conjoined essay expresses a personal perspective on what it’s like to experience Yellowstone from an “insider’s” point of view.

The book highlights a number of Yellowstone’s personalities who share the same passion for sustaining Yellowstone’s ecosystem, including: a construction crane operator who must adhere to guidelines to prevent damage from the seismic activity of Yellowstone’s massive underground volcano; the U.S. magistrate judge in Mammoth Hot Springs, who presided over crimes from geyser vandalism to poaching; the director of Yellowstone Association, who survived a grizzly bear attack and continues to hike to this day; and a Vietnam War veteran who fights for preserving native wildlands.

Reaffirming the universal delight and enthusiasm for the park through Horan’s stunning photography and Crocker’s insightful descriptions, PEOPLE OF YELLOWSTONE is a gorgeous work of art that evokes the spirit and mission of the people who work tirelessly to keep Yellowstone National Park the beautiful and inspiring environment that it is today.

Steve Horan studied photography in Toronto and the U.S. and has worked in many aspects of the art. The PEOPLE OF YELLOWSTONE project unites his passion for community and its connection to the natural world. He spent five years crisscrossing three states to find collaborative subjects for this book. Visit him at www.peopleofyellowstone.com or www.stevehoran.com.

Ruth W. Crocker is the Pushcart Prize-nominated author of the award-winning memoir Those Who Remain: Remembrance and Reunion After War. Her work has appeared in outlets including The Gettysburg Review, O-Dark-Thirty Magazine, The Saturday Evening Post, Best American Essays, and T.A.P.S. Magazine. Visit her at www.ruthwcrocker.com.